§ 296. Paternity establishment through marriage of parents
Children born out-of-wedlock become legitimized by the subsequent marriage of their parents with each other even though such marriage shall be adjudged to be void.
§ 297. Temporary support order based on probable paternity in contested cases
In any proceeding initiated pursuant to this chapter in which paternity is contested, upon motion of a party to the action, a temporary order shall be issued requiring the provision of child support pending a court or hearing officer determination of paternity, if there is clear and convincing evidence of paternity, either on the basis […]
§ 298. No right to jury trial
The parties to an action initiated under this chapter are not entitled to a trial by jury under any circumstance.
§ 292. Voluntary paternity establishment
(a) Paternity may be voluntarily established through the execution of an Acknowledgment of Paternity. The process shall be as follows: (1) The Acknowledgment of Paternity, as prescribed in this section, shall be the exclusive means to voluntarily establish paternity of children born out-of-wedlock, outside of the court and administrative process as set out in this […]
§ 293. Court and administrative paternity establishment
(a) Proceedings under this chapter may be instituted by (1) any female resident of the Virgin Islands who has delivered an out-of-wedlock child or by (2) any male resident of the Virgin Islands who is alleging to be the father of an out-of-wedlock child, or (3) any legal custodian of an out-of-wedlock child. Proceedings herein […]
§ 294. Proof of certain support and paternity establishment costs
In any proceeding initiated pursuant to this chapter, any bills for pregnancy, childbirth and genetic testing are admissible as evidence without requiring third-party foundation testimony, and shall constitute prima facie evidence of amounts incurred for such services or for testing on behalf of the child or children.
§ 295. Proof of paternity when a parent is deceased
(a) The deceased father of a child born out-of-wedlock, by having publicly acknowledged the child as his own, or having received the child into his family and otherwise having treated it as if it were a legitimate child, thereby provides evidence of paternity. (b) If the mother is dead at the time of a paternity […]
§ 291. Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) “Out-of-wedlock” is synonymous with “illegitimate”, and includes children born to a marriage where the child is not the product of the marriage. (b) “Acknowledgment of Paternity” shall be synonymous with “Affidavit of Paternity” or “Acknowledgment of Paternity”, as such terms may appear in the […]